Method of training hedges



(No Model.)

L. MATTHEWS.

METHOD of' TRAINING HBDGLS. No. 569,720. Patented Oct. 20, 1896.

/NVENTOH Lul/71er fawws ATTORNEYS SOP UNITED STATES PATENT EErcE.

LUTHER MATTHEVS, OF PARIS, TENNESSEE.

METHOD OF TRAINING HEDGES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 569,720, dated October20, 1896. Application led May 18, 1.895` Serial No. 549,778. (Nospecimens.)

Be it known that I, LUTHER Mn'rrnnws, residing at Paris, in the countyof Henry and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Hedge Fences, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the method of training hedges; and suchinvention primarily has for its object to provide a hedge fence.possessing the elements of economyin construetion, neat appearance, andgeneral effectiveness.

The invention consists in the peculiar construction of hedge fence andmethod of producing the saine, such as will hereinafter be firstdescribed in detail, and then specicall y pointed out in the appendedclaim, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure l illustrates a section of a hedge fence constructed inaccordance with my invention. Fig. 2 illustrates the plan ts as they arefirst set and grow. Fig. 3 is a view illustrating the plants afterhaving been dwarfed in the manner hereinafter described. Fig. 4illustrates the manner in which the plants are inclined or bentafterhaving been dwaried. Fig. 5 is a view illustratin g the manner in whichthe alternate inclined plants are secured to the verticallydisposedbrace or stay plant; and Fig. 6 is a cross-section of the completehedge, illustrating the manner in which the inclined plants areinterlaced about the vertically-disposed brace 0r sta-y plant.

The plants A are rstpset in a stra-ight line about six or eight inchesapart, and between every other plant is set what I term a brace or stayi plant B, as clearly shown in Fig. l. At this point it should be statedthat the plants A and B are so spaced apart that when the iirst plant(indicated by A in Fig. l) is bent down to an angle of forty-tivedegrees its end will contact with the upper end of the second brace orstay plant, (indicated by B2 in Fig. 1,) while the second inclined plant(indicated by A2) will pass beyond the plant and have its upper end leftfree at apoint about midway between it and the next staylant.

The object in spacing the plants in the manner stated is twofold: First,it leaves but one plant free at the top between any two successivestay-pla-nts, and, secondly, it forms a very effective means for bracingthe hedge and giving it great strength, as the upper end of thealternate plants A is secured to the top of the said brace-plants B in amanner presently described.

More eitectually and successfully to produce the hedge I closely trimthe plants before they are bent down, interlaced, and connectedtogether. rlhis I accomplish after the plants have grown to one to oneand one-half inches in circumfcren ce by removing all the branches andtops and by removing the dirt away from the root and cutting olii thelateral branches of the tap-root, especially so at the side to which theplantis bent. (See Fig. I3.) The earth is then put back and tightlypacked down beside the plants. After the plants have been closelytrimmed, as stated, the plants A are bent over to an angle of fortyiivedegrees and alternately passed over the front and rear of thebrace-plants l, being interlaced, as it were, in the ina-nner clearlyunderstood by reference to Fig. G. The alternate or first plants A' arethen secured to the tops of the straight plants 13 by wire binders C,which securely join the ends of the plants A and l5, as shown in Fig. 5.As the two plants A' and B are secured the plant B is preferably bentover at a reverse an glo to the plants A', as indicated by the arrow anddotted line in Fig. 4 and shown in full lines in Fig. 5. This gives thesaid plants ll a certain amount of back tension, which will serve todraw the plants A taut about the front and rear faces of the plants B,and as the said plants B in time assume practically a vertical position,as seen in Fig. 1, tend to draw all the plants to a taut condition, andthereby forrn a compact, strong, and neat hedge fence.

It will be clear that as the plan ts are closely trimmed before they arebent over, and as the plants A lie immediately one over the other, thenew growth oi branches will be to the top side of the plant only, andthereby iillin g the spaces between more fully than would be the easehad the branches not been iirst removed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

The method herein described of training IOO hedges, which consists insetting equidistan-t bending down said plants, and securing them fromeaeh other a series of plants, setting a to the stay-plants,substantially as shown and stay-plant midway between every second suehset forth.

plant and the succeeding one, closely trim- L. MATTHEVS. ming all saidplants when theT have attained fitness/es:

a suitable height, removing the roots from G. L. FRYER,

one side of all the plants of the rst series, S. H. FISER.

